Hearing aid device



22, 1957 J. o. GARRIDO 2,810,445

7 HEARING AID DEVICE Filed July 30, 1956 INVENTOR.

JEANNE O. GARRIDO United States Patent f HEARING AID DEVICE Jeanne 0. Garrido, West Palm Beach, Fia.

Application July 30, 1956, Serial No. 600,815

8 Claims. (Cl. 181-25) This invention relates to hearing aid devices and to beauty parlor hair drying equipment, and more particularly to an ear trumpet device which is adapted to be worn under a hair net during the hair drying process in a beauty parlor, and being effective to bypass the loud roar of the dryer and admit normal sounds present in the room including music and voices at the normal conversational level.

As is well known to all who have patronized beauty parlors, and as can be easily understood by others, the noise and roar developed in a hair drying machine make it impossible for a patron over whose head the hood of the machine is positioned to hear normal room sounds. The roar is caused both by the motor driven air impeller and by the rush of the air itself into and out of the ears of the patron.

Consequently, either the person under the drying hood must remain incommunicado for the duration of the half hour or more involved in the drying process, or the drying procedure must be interrupted from time to time while questions are asked and replies received, as is frequently necessary in connection with other services being performed for the patron.

My invention has been made with the foregoing considerations in mind and can be said to have a plurality of important objectives.

One important object of my invention is the provision of hearing aid means which are adapted to by-pass the roaring sound developed between the hood of the hair drying machine and the head of the patron positioned thereunder, excluding the roar from the ears but admitting the normal room sounds.

Another important object of my invention is the provision of a device of the character described which will be easily attached adjacent the ears of the user, requiring no additional equipment or accessories, or modification of the drying machine.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a device of the character described which is practically indestructible and is adapted for reuse by a plurality of patrons.

A further important object of my invention is the provision of a device of the character described having means for accommodating a disposable ear pad which constitutes the only physical contact between the device and the user, and is easily and inexpensively replaced for each patron.

An additional object of my invention is the provision of a device of the character described which is light in Weight, transparent to facilitate inspection and easily cleaned and sterilized.

In brief, my invention consists of an ear trumpet device which is positioned over the ears of a patron whose hair is being dried with a conventional forced air hair drying machine and is adapted to extend outwardly from under the rim of the dryer so that the mechanical sounds of the machine go around the tubular shank of the trumpet and normal room sounds are admitted through the apertures of the tubes extended outwardly from the hood.

7 The device is preferably conformed in one piece and 2,810,445 Patented Oct. 22, 1957 includes a tubular trumpet-shaped sound receiving section flared outwardly at one end and terminating at the opposite end in a non-concentric arcuate cup member adapted to fit over either ear of the patron. The off-center jointure of the tube with the cup enables the tubes to be positioned diagonally downwardly from the ears below the rim of the hood.

A doughnut-shaped pad of absorbent cotton or similar porous and flexible material is positioned within the concave cup portion to dampen sound conducted by the tube and to serve as contact means against the ears of the patron. New pads are used for each patron.

The tubular trumpet sections are entered through apertures in the hair net normally worn by a patron during the drying process, and no other attachment means is required.

Certain variations in the embodiment shown and various other important objects of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the general art in the following detailed specification when examined with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a frontal view of a beauty parlor patron wearing a pair of the hearing devices of my invention in the manner in which they would normally be attached;

Figure 2. is a similar diagrammatic frontal View showing the patron and the devices as they would appear with a hair drying hood positioned over the patrons head;

Figure 3 is a side view in longitudinal section of the device of my invention revealing the construction thereof;

Figure 4 is an end elevational View from the direction of the arrow 4 in Figure 3 showing the non-concentric relationship of the cup and the trumpet portions; and

Figure 5 is a similar end elevational view showing the method in which a disposable insert is positioned within the cup portion of the device.

Reference is again made to Figure l in which a pair of the devices constructed according to my invention are shown in the position of use. Although two of the devices are normally used at a time, it should be understood that the two are exactly the same, not opposites or lefts and rights, and therefore only one of the devices need be described.

In Figure 1 the numeral 10 designates the devices of my invention which are seen to extend outwardly from beneath the hair net 11 which is wrapped in a generally conventional manner about the head 12 of the beauty parlor patron 13 and tied as indicated at 14. It will be observed that the trumpet devices slope outwardly and downwardly from the ears and, as is better seen in Figure 2, are thereby enabled to extend outwardly below the rim 15 of the dryer hood 16, and do not interfere with the normal positioning of the patrons head therein.

The construction of the device, clearly indicated in the longitudinal section of Figure 3, is seen to include a generally tubular section 17 which is flared outwardly as shown at 18 to an enlarged aperture 19 at its outward end, and is joined eccentrically at its opposite end to a cup portion 20 which is seen to be substantiasly wider in the upper area 2U above the tube than in the lower area Zll-L therebelow. The non-concentric positioning of the end of the tube 21 and the ear cup 20 is also clearly illustrated in Figure 4.

Because of this off-center method of attachment of the tube to the ear cup the particular downward angle of the outwardly extended trumpet portions can be adjusted forwardly or rearwardly by adjusting the ear cup 20 in rotative relation to the ear.

Also seen in the sectional view of Figure 3 is the doughnut-shaped insert pad 22 which is removably positioned within the cup 20 as is also shown in the frontal elevational view of Figure 5. This pad is conformed of soft resilient material such as absorbent cotton or foam rubber, and is intended to provide contact between the device and the ear of the patron, and consequently is renewed for each new user of the hearing device.

As can be understood from Figures 1 and 2, the devices are held in the net by inserting them through enlarged apertures or slits positioned in the net so that the devices will align generally with the ears when the net is tied about the head.

In one preferred embodiment the device 10 is conformed of a light weightt plastic material which is generally heat resistant, easily cleaned, and being transparent is easily inspected.

The eflicient operation of the device can be readily understood by reference to the Figures 1 and 2. An air duct is normally connected to the hood 16 in Figure 2 by means of an aperture such as 23. The drying device has separated blower and heating means whereby a blast of warm air is forced through the duct into the aperture 23 and outwardly through the hood 16 in the direction indicated by the arrows 24-. The noise of the blower motor and the rush ofthe air combine to create a substantial roar which normally enters the ears of the patron seated under the hood 16. However, with the devices of my invention positioned as in Figure l to cover the ears, the moving air with its accompanying sound moves downwardly around the head in the direction of the arrows 25 and then passes around the tube 14} as indicated at the points 26 in the figure and is thereby by-passed from direct entry into the ears. Sound that might be presumed to be conducted to the ear through the tubes, is insulated from the cars by the padding 22 seen in Figures 3 and 5. At the same time, the apertures 19 of the devices 10 permit sound originating in the room, indicated by the arrows 27 in Figure 1, to enter the ears through the tubes 17 in the normal manner.

In actual tests the devices have been found to be quite eifective and although they do not completely eliminate the background roar of the blowing device, they do make possibly conversation with other persons in the room in a generally normal manner.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention will occur to those skilled in the art after a careful study hereof. All such, properly Within the basic spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included and comprehended herein as fully as if specifically described, illustrated and claimed herein.

The exact compositions, configurations, constructions, relative positionings, and cooperative relationships of the various component parts of the present invention are not critical, and can be modified substantially within the spirit of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention specifically described and illustrated herein are exemplary only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, which is to be interpreted in the light of the prior art and the appended claims only, with due consideration for the doctrine of equivalents.

I claim:

1. A hearing aid device, comprising: an ear piece having the conformation of a shallow cup and having a nonconcentric opening therein; a tubular section extended outwardly from said cup and communicating interiorly with said cup through said opening therein; said tubular section being flared outwardly and terminated in an aperture of substantially increased diameter spaced from said cup, and a circular ear pad of soft resilient material removably positionable within the outwardly opening concave body of said cup.

2. The invention in accordance with claim 1 and further characterized by said pad having a central opening therethrough, said opening being disposed in axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of said tubular section. V

3. The invention in accordance with claim 2 and being further characterized by a hair net having slits oppositely disposed therein so as to be superposed over the ears when the net is worn about the head, said tubular sections of said hearing devices being extended outwardly through said apertures in said net and said ear piece cups being retained within said net against the ears of the wearer.

4. The invention in accordance with claim 3 in which said ear piece cup are deeper at the top than at the bottom whereby said flared outer ends of said tubular sections extended therefrom are movable forwardly and backwardly by partial rotation of said cups relative to the ears of the wearer.

5. The invention in accordance with claim 4 in which said ear pads are conformed of porous sound absorbent material whereby sound waves striking the outer periphery of said tubular sections are not transmitted conductively to the ear, whereas sound waves entering axially of said tube sections are transmitted directly to the ear.

6. In a hearing aid device, the combination comprising: a pair of ear pieces having the conformation of a shallow cup and having non-concentric openings therein; tubular sections extended outwardly from said cups and communicaitng interiorly with said cups through said openings therein; said tubular sections being flared outwardly and terminated in apertures of substantially increased diameter spaced from said cups; a circular ear pad of soft resilient material removably positionable within the outwardly opening concave body of each of said cups; a hair net having slits oppositely disposed therein so as to be superposed over the ears when the net is worn about the'head, said tubular sections being extended outwardly through said apertures in said net and said ear piece cups being retained within said not against the ears of the wearer.

7. The invention in accordance with claim 6 in which said ear piece cups are deeper at the top than at the bottom whereby said flared outer ends of said tubular sections extended therefrom are movable forwardly and backwardly by partial rotation of said cups relative to the ears of the wearer.

8. The invention in accordance with claim 7 in which said ear pads are conformed of porous sound absorbent material whereby sound waves striking the outer periphery of said tubular sections are not transmitted conductively to the ear, whereas sound waves entering axially of said tube sections are transmitted directly to the ear.

No references cited. 

